Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya is not just a name, he is a pediatrician, a hospital director, and a frontline humanitarian worker who cared for children in the most desperate of circumstances. On December 27, 2024, Israeli forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, detaining Dr. Abu Safiya and other staff. The hospital was left inoperable, and for more than six weeks, his whereabouts were unknown.

Dr. Abu Safiya is being held at Ofer Prison under Israel’s “Unlawful Combatants Law”, a legal framework that allows indefinite detention without charge or trial and severely restricts access to legal representation and independent oversight. This law has been widely condemned by international legal experts for violating fundamental rights guaranteed under international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.

His detention is more than an individual injustice, it is an assault on medical neutrality. Healthcare workers are protected persons under international law and must never be punished for fulfilling their professional duties, especially in conflict zones. Detaining physicians under emergency legal frameworks sets a dangerous precedent that undermines the safety of healthcare workers everywhere.

Multiple credible reports have documented abuse, denial of food and medical care, and deteriorating health among Palestinian detainees, including Dr. Abu Safiya. These conditions pose an immediate and serious threat to his life.

The United States has a responsibility to stand for the protection of medical professionals and the rule of law. Calling for Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya’s release is not a political act — it is a humanitarian imperative and a defense of universal principles: that doctors must be free to heal, not silenced or imprisoned.

By raising our voices together, we can help secure his release and reaffirm a critical message:
Healthcare is not a crime. Doctors are not combatants. Medical neutrality must be protected.